rosalita92

Planning a trip to Normandy in September. Is their train service from near the airport to Bayeux? Where do I find it?

StCirq

No, you have to go into Paris and take the train from the Gare St-Lazare.

PalenQ

take the RER from CDG to Gare du Nord and then follow transfer signs for RER E - direction Madeleine (I believe but going west, not southeast) or Saint-Lazare - RER E takes you to the Gare Saint-Lazare which has frequent trains to Rouen and Caen and Bayeux amongst other Norman places. since you do not know exactly when you will get to Saint-Lazare station just buy a ticket upon arrival there - some trains require reservations which come with the ticket but many do not - anyway no problem getting on trains IME on those lines - they are not TGV or high-speed lines bu traditional Corail or Corail TEOZ trains - the latter demanding seat reservations but a fully flexible ticket can be used I believe without formality on any Corail (non-TEOZ) train. If you are doing multiple trips by train in France then check out the France Railpass IMO - www.voyages-sncf.com will have all the schedules and prices for all French trains - some superduper sites for info on French trains - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com - allow at least one hour from leaving CDG airport via RER to arriving at Saint-Lazare - another option would be to take a Air Bus directly to the Opera, a few blocks from Saint-Lazare station - may be easier with luggage than the perhaps hectic RER transfer at Gare du Nord. I believe air buses do link CDG with the Opera area but not sure. (Roissy bus for googling.)

PalenQ

At the DCG airport train station I believe you could be a through ticket from the airport to whatever Normandy destination you're headed for - it would then include the transfer by RER from Gare du Nord to Gare Saint-Lazare (or Madeline, whatever the RER station that is linked to Saint-Lazare is called - otherwise it would be a hassle to have to buy a RER ticket in Gare du Nord - often long lines at ticket windows and machines that may not accept American credit cards so at least have plenty of euro coins in which case they will work. But try for a complete ticket from CDG to Normandy that includes the RER transfer.

apersuader65

PalenQ - we looked at your 1:20 post's option for our March trip, which would have simplified things, but the cost was not worth the simplification. The 8.40E ticket from CDG to St. Lazare w/transfer from GdN was Much cheaper.

I would suggest, if you are buying tickets at the stations, to wait for a direct train from CDG to GdN, if they still exist, as we didn't, and the train was packed by the second stop Villepinte, with 6 or 7 more stops before GdN. We didn't find the transfer to the E line to Lazare that difficult, and I was towing my DW's huge suitcase (while she towed my carry-on size bag) throughout.

ardithl

If you do purchase your train tickets in advance, the non-refundable prem's tickets are considerably cheaper than the walk-up fare (as low as 15 euros instead of 36). However, there is the possibility that your plane will be delayed, etc., so allow plenty of time to get to Gare St Lazare if you buy a prems ticket. Or, you could just purchase a prems ticket for the return.

You can purchase prems tickets (which you can print at home) on tgv-europe.com, but do not select US as your country (I use Canada) to avoid being sent to the higher-priced RailEurope US site. Notify your credit card company that you will be making purchases in France.

Note that some trains are direct to Bayeux, and others require a change in Caen (which is easy). To maximize your choices when you purchase tickets online, make sure that the box for "direct trains" is not checked.

We went second class to Bayeux for 15 Euros, but returned in first class because the 15E prems tickets weren't available for the train we wanted. There was little difference between first and second class on this route.

PalenQ

I would suggest, if you are buying tickets at the stations, to wait for a direct train from CDG to GdN, if they still exist, as we didn't, and the train was packed by the second stop Villepinte, with 6 or 7 more stops before GdN.>

Ah yeh a common mistake - you simply should not hop on any RER train waiting at CDG RER stations as one is an omnibus type train that stops at every station and yes there is still many 'sans arret' or no stop trains going to Gare du Nord - much faster and I have been on such trains that leave after the stopping train but pass it at Aulnaaye-sous-Bois (sp?) and get to Nord first.

PalenQ

You can purchase prems tickets (which you can print at home) on tgv-europe.com,>

but there are no TGV trains on the Paris to Caen/bayeux routes so can tgv site also do tickets for these CORAIL and CORAIL TEOZ trains? www.voyages-sncf.com does the same for all trains - French Railways official site and do the same as ardithl meticulously and helpfully explains.

rosalita92

Thanks for the advice